Such was the soggy condition Romney found himself in Wednesday morning. The previous night, his campaign had fired off a premature statement that falsely accused Obama of apologizing to the people attacking U.S. embassies in Libya and Egypt. “It’s disgraceful that the Obama administration’s first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions, but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks.”

However, the supposed apology — a statement opposing the “misguided individuals” behind a U.S.-produced film that offended Muslims — came out before the attacks, was issued by career diplomats in Cairo without clearance from Washington, and was disavowed by the White House. This misfire became far more serious when news emerged later that the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other embassy staffers had been killed in the attacks Romney had just politicized.